Running back, safety depth concern Smith

Brad Biggs, Tribune reporter

The Chicago Bears are facing more injuries as they gear up for a must-win season finale at Detroit with a playoff berth at stake.

Coach Lovie Smith declined to shed any more light on injuries to free safety Chris Conte and running back Matt Forte on Monday at Halas Hall but admitted that depth at both positions is concerning. Forte left Sunday’s 28-13 victory at Arizona with a sprained right ankle, the third time he’s suffered an ankle injury this season. He left in a walking boot, but that’s standard.

Conte suffered what Smith called a pulled hamstring and if it is anything more than a slight injury, Conte could be sidelined for the remainder of the year. Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher has yet to practice since suffering a hamstring injury on Dec. 2.

“You know, whenever you have a limited amount of guys this time of year anyway, and when you have a player that goes down, it makes you shuffle things,” Smith said. “Hopefully, Matt will be OK and a lot of the guys we’re talking about, hopefully their injuries aren’t as bad as maybe most of us think, most of you think hopefully.”

Forte vowed after the game to play this Sunday at Detroit. If he is not available, Kahlil Bell will take his place and the Bears would likely have to promote Harvey Unga from the practice squad or find some help on the street.

“We have a couple other options,” Smith said without making any hints at roster moves that could be made.

In a move likely made to clear roster spot, the Bears waived receiver Dane Sanzenbacher on Monday. He appeared in only four games this season and had one catch.

Cornerbacks Kelvin Hayden and Zack Bowman could be options for fill-in work at safety. Otherwise, Smith would not commit to a potential return this week for Urlacher but said the team is hopeful when it comes to the middle linebacker as well as defensive tackle Henry Melton (clavicle) and right tackle Jonathan Scott (hamstring).

“(Urlacher) is getting better and that’s all I’ll say,” Smith said. “We’re hopeful. You never know. Brian is a quick healer. If he’s ready to go, he will. He’s made a lot of progress. I’m not trying to run away from your question. We have to get to the practice week and see where he is.”

In other news, Smith praised the performance of the offensive line in the victory even though the offense produced only two touchdowns and struggled moving the ball.

“Offensively, I know that stats don’t jump out at you, some of them don’t but some of the things we did well, like running the football, protecting the football, those were things that we had to do yesterday to get the win,” Smith said.

* Smith played his game of pretending not to remember details of the previous meeting with the Lions when wide receiver Calvin Johnson was limited to three receptions for 34 yards. Johnson needs 108 yards Sunday to reach 2,000 for the season.

“When did that happen?” he said. “That was a long time ago. I didn’t even realize that until you told me that. I know we played him pretty well then but I wish that could help us this week but I don’t think anything that has happened those other 15 games has a lot to do with what is going on now. We were able to see him play a little bit Saturday night before the game and a guy that has that many records and I know he is trying to get 2,000 yards, that is saying an awful lot. It is going to be a big challenge like it’s a big challenge every time you play against Detroit with him.

* Finally, if the Bears win on Sunday at Ford Field, they will have to wait until the outcome of the Packers-Vikings game to determine if they reach the playoffs. That game does not begin until 3:25 p.m. Smith was asked if he would consider waiting in Detroit to watch the game before making the short return trip home.

“Hadn’t gotten that far,” Smith said. “There are a lot of other things that have priority before. We will be interested. Again, all of that goes with us taking care of business first. So, we’re just going to concentrate on that. Haven’t made any decisions like that.”